Shoe-fastening



(No Model.)

H. H. R'ODMAN.

Paterited Mar. 10, 1885.

SHOE FASTENING.

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a UNTTED V STATES PATENT @rrrcn.

HENRY H. RODMAN, \VILKES-BARRE, PENNSYLVANIA.

SHOE-FASTENING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 313,533, dated March10, 1885.

Application filed July .22, 1884. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY H. RoDMAma citizen of the United States,residing at Wilkes- Barre, in the county of Luzerne and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inShoe-Fastenings, of which the following is a description.

Figure 1 is a side view of a shoe provided with my invention. Fig. 2 isa longitudinal section of the tongue. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectiontaken through the tongue and the edges of the shoe-slit. Figs. 4. to 6'are detail views of the lacing-eye, and Fig. Tis a detail of the rivet.

The object of my invention is to provide a shoe-fastening which may bequickly opened or closed, easily adjusted, and which shall tightly closein the foot and fit comfortably thereto. These objects are accomplishedin the construction which I will now proceed to describe.

In the drawings, A represents a shoe provided with my improvedfastening. This shoe has its upper slitted obliquely at the side to forman opening. It may, however, be slitted vertically at the side, ordirectly in front or rear. On each side of the slit are secured openslotted eyes a, of a peculiar shape, as shown in Fig. 4. These eyes havean opening or slot, a, leading into the inner periphery of the eye, andthese slots are disposed parallel with the edges of the slit in theshoe. These eyes have a shank or tang, a projecting, not from the centerof the eye, but from one side, so that when this tang is placed againstthe side of the slit the eye will be about in the plane of the leatheror material of which the slitted portion is formed. For securing thiseye, the tang is provided with a perforation, to receive a rivet, b,which is split a part of its length, and which, when inserted throughthe material and the tang of the eye, has its split ends bent apart, toclinch and hold-the tang, which is slightly recessed on each side of theperforation to receive the clinched ends of said rivet. To cooperatewith these eyes a, I provide a special form of sliding tongue, B, whichis made of a tapering or other suitable form to fit the foot. The edgesof this move, while a short distance from said edges the tongue is of areduced thickness that will pass through the slits a of the hook, whichlatter are too narrow, however, to permit the full thickness of the edgeof the tongue to come through. In constructing thistongue I form thethin-portion of it by grooves 0, out near the edges on each side, inwhich case a single thick piece of leather is used, as shown at Fig. 3.At the upper edges of the tongue there are, as continuations of theedges of the tongue, cords d d, which, when the tongue is pulled downbelow the eyes, remain in the eyes and avoid the difficulty of enteringthe edges of the tongue into the eyes again when closing the shoe. Atthe lower end of the tongue there is asmall button, 6, attached to acord, f, which runs up along the inside of the tongue, and which cordcan be pulled out by means of the button, to form a hand-hold or tug fordrawing the tongue down, or be drawn up out of sight when the tongue isdrawn up.

In making use of my invention the tongue is drawn bodily and as a wholeeither up or down. WVhen drawn up, it draws the slit to gether andcloses the shoe, the cords dd being tied around the ankle. WVhen drawndown, the cords d d pass into the eyes and the shoe is opened.

Iam aware of the Patent No. 36,497, in which a tongue with cordscontinuing from its edges is arranged to slide integrally in retainingeyes or clips at the side of the shoe-slit, and I therefore only claimmy peculiar construction, in which the tongue, made of a single piece ofleather, with grooves cut in its edges, forms a cheap simplefastening,and one which throughout its entire area is of the samethickness as the upper of the shoe, as shown in Fig. 3. Anotheradvantage is that the edges of the eyes a at the outlet a are square andafford a positive resistance to the pull of the tongue, so that thelatter cannot pull out.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new is 1. As a newarticle of manufacture, the tongue A, made of a single piece of leatherof uniform thickness, and having grooves 0 0 cut I 3. The combination,with the sliding tongue, near its edges, with-.said edges continued toof the button 6 and cord f, substantially as form extension-cords d d,as shown and deshown and described, and for the purpose set scribed.forth.

2. The tongue A, made of a single piece of leather of uniform thickness,and having HENRY H. RODMAN. grooves c a cut near its edges, with itsedges extended to form cords d d, in combination Witnesses:

with a shoe having lacing-eyes a, with square or right-angular edges atits slot or opening a, as shown and described.

SoLoN O. KEMON, CHAS. A. PETTIT.

